And here we are, this is the last week of our 2024 CSA season. At pickup we ask that everyone please bring back any bushels, baskets and other containers, we repurpose and recycle as much as possible. Please bring your own container to take your share home in. Marc will be sending out a brief survey to get your feedback on your 2024 CSA experience, watch for it in the next few weeks. In past years we implemented some important changes as a result of suggestions we received, your opinion is important to us. As always we allow our past members priority for the upcoming 2025 CSA season before going to our waiting list. You should receive notifications in early January, so watch for our email. I will also be keeping up my newsletters over the winter but will scale them back to monthly which you are automatically included. I am trying to expand my reach and your help would be greatly appreciated by encouraging family and friends to also subscribe. They can sign up through our home page at www.rumarfarm.ca.
Week eighteen is your specially designed Thanksgiving basket, all you have to do is add the turkey or ham (or keep it vegetarian). The first course consists of a fresh Rumar Farm mix lettuce salad. Pairing the greens with sharp parmesan, dried cranberries, nutty almonds with a sweet dressing would make a super starter. (greens provided), Your main sides consists of young freshly dug potatoes (provided) and roasting vegetables (carrots, beets and sweet peppers provided). Finely chopping parsley makes a nice garnish for the roasted veggies and potatoes (parsley provided). You could make a killer sage gravy (sage provided) if you decide to do a bird. Another easy side dish is baked tomatoes to add to your other veggies (tomatoes provided). For dessert, what else but a home made pumpkin pie (grey ghost pumpkin provided). Later in the evening you can serve sliced Bosc pears (provided) with candied nuts and an assortment of aged cheeses. Maybe a nice brandy for the grownups? The kids can enjoy a movie with Kale chips as a snack (Tuscan kale provided).
Here is what you can expect in your basket this week:
Rumar Lettuce Mix The above recipe makes a quick holiday salad to start your meal off with a bang. Feel free to switch up the ingredients based on what you have on hand, perhaps add a few chunks of heirloom tomatoes.
Potatoes Boil quartered potatoes until fork tender. Add butter & milk and mash until incorporated. Stir in scallions or garlic chives and season with salt and pepper.
Roasting Vegetable Medley Here you can wow your guests with a medley of local fall vegetables. Create sheet pan roast by cutting them up, drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper and any other fresh herbs.. Spread them on the sheet and roast at 400 for around 20 minutes stirring once or twice to allow crispy perfectly browned exterior and fork tender inside.
- Carrots
- Beets
- Sweet Yellow Banana Pepper
Heirloom Tomatoes – For a cheesy tomato side dish, slice med/larger tomatoes, remove seeds and add to casserole dish. drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Combine panko crumbs, parmesan, chopped parsley, garlic, shallots, red pepper flakes and salt & pepper in small bowl. Fill/top tomatoes with mixture and bake for 20 minutes. Drizzle with olive oil before serving.
Grey Ghost Cooking Pumpkin You can easily add it to your roasted vegetable medley but what is a better dessert after a thanksgiving meal than pumpkin pie. By using an unbaked pie crust it is so easy. Just roast and puree the pumpkin, combine it with egg, sweetened condensed milk and pumpkin spice then fill the crust. Bake at 350 for about 40 minutes. Cool and serve with whipped cream. Or you can use your pumpkin as a table decoration and later carve it for Halloween.
Bosc Pear While the kids are watching movies, the adults can enjoy sliced Bosc pears with a variety of cheeses such as old cheddar or Parmigiano-Reggiano and perhaps a cognac or Cabernet Sauvignon.
Tuscan Kale – Its so easy to make a healthy snack out of kale. To make kale chips, preheat oven to 300 degrees F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment and remove the kale leaves from the stems and tear into bite sized pieces. Drizzle with olive oil and toss to combine. Spread out of baking sheet without overlapping and sprinkle with salt. Bake about 20 – 30 minutes until edges start to brown.
Parsley and Sage
Package of White Milk Weed (Asclepias Incarnata) Seeds for next spring – A gift to you from our wonderful volunteer, Joanne Moore. She has provided a special hand crafted seed package to help our endangered Monarch butterflies, bees and other beneficials flourish. Plant them now or next spring, they will be a beautiful addition to your garden.
Don’t forget our on-line store remains open until we run out of produce so keep checking back weekly. We still have lots left!
We wish everyone a great thanksgiving and look forward to seeing you all back next year.
Enjoy.
